Michael Johnston submits: The development of the ETF industry has in many ways leveled the investing playing field, bringing strategies previously available only to large institutions and sophisticated, high net worth investors to anyone with a Scottrade account. Most of these “democratizations” have involved very complex, high-risk tactics. Leveraged ETFs, hedge fund ETFs, and long/short [...]

Tom Lydon (ETF Trends) submits: Despite the slow economic growth witnessed in India, it’s still far better than what most developed countries are experiencing. This makes the ETFs appealing for investors who want exposure to the growing country. India remains an attractive investment location despite slow economic growth this year. Factors such as capital flows, [...]

Tom Lydon (ETF Trends) submits: Thanks to commodity ETFs, access to this asset class has been greatly simplified for investors. So much so, that the CFTC is examining the funds with a fine-toothed comb. This has already had implications, one of which is that United States Natural Gas Fund (NYSEArca: UNG) stopped issuing shares. Complete [...]

Tom Lydon (ETF Trends) submits: China’s economy is heating up, so it’s only natural that new ETFs that give investors new ways to access the country appear on the scene. Claymore Securities has filed to launch three new China-focused ETFs that will track different sectors in the emerging market. Luisa Beltran for Ignites reports that [...]

Kevin S. Price submits: This morning’s Wall Street Journal features an Eleanor Laise article on a few new entrants in the category of actively-managed ETFs. We aren’t crazy about the concept, largely because we think ETFs work best as part of a strategic asset allocation program with rock-bottom expenses. Here’s a telling passage on that [...]